Zacks.com Announces that Kelley Wright Highlights the Following Stock: Mercury General.Business Editors CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2003 Investors looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. undervalued stocks even during a bull run should look to the professionals at Investment Quality Trends for the best direction. Read about MERCURY GENERAL (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :MCY MCY Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia - Maroochydore (Airport Code) MCY Machine Cycle ). Click here for the full story exclusively on Zacks.com: http://at.zacks.com/?id=84 Here are the highlights from the Featured Expert column: MERCURY GENERAL (NYSE:MCY) Though originally started as an automobile casualty company, Mercury has grown to write homeowners insurance, mechanical breakdown insurance, commercial and dwelling fire insurance, and commercial property insurance. During the 1990's, expansion came as acquisitions increased MCY's home territory into seven additional states: Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Virginia, Illinois, and Georgia. The company also expects to begin writing lines of automobile insurance in New Jersey by the end of this year, and in Arizona by 2004. During last year, automobile lines of insurance accounted for 92.2% of gross premiums written When a non-life insurance company closes a contract to provide insurance against loss, the revenues (premiums) expected to be received over the life of the contract are called gross premiums written. . Acquisitions have become an important way for Mercury to expand its business presence into other regions of operation. In 1996, MCY acquired American Fidelity Insurance An agreement whereby, for a designated sum of money, one party agrees to guarantee the loyalty and honesty of an agent, officer, or employee of an employer by promising to compensate the employer for losses incurred as a result of the disloyalty or dishonesty of such individuals. group, allowing it to add customers from Oklahoma and Texas. In Kansas, MCY acquired Cimarron. In 2000, Mercury acquired the rights to Elm County Mutual Insurance in Texas. The close of the third quarter brought positive news for MCY shareholders. Regulatory allowance for increased premiums helped to drive overall premiums written up by 20%. Coinciding with this move was an increase in earnings per share from $0.34 last year to $0.91. As a result of the strong gains, MCY increased its quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.33/ share. At a recent price of $48, shares of MCY are Undervalued Undervalued A stock or other security that is trading below its true value. Notes: The difficulty is knowing what the "true" value actually is. Analysts will usually recommend an undervalued stock with a strong buy rating. with only an 8% downside risk Downside Risk An estimation of a security's potential to suffer a decline in price if the market conditions turn bad. Notes: You can think of this as an estimate of the amount that you could lose on a stock or other investment. to a low price of $44, high yield of 3.0%. From current levels MCY possesses an 83% upside potential Upside potential The amount by which analysts or investors expect the price of a security may increase. upside potential The potential price or gain that may be expected in a security or in a security average, generally stated as the dollar to an Overvalue o·ver·val·ue tr.v. o·ver·val·ued, o·ver·val·u·ing, o·ver·val·ues To assign too high a value to: overvalued the painting. price of $88, low yield of 1.5%. Get much more of Kelley Wright's market commentary and stock information by clicking: http://at.zacks.com/?id=85 About Zacks Featured Experts To be a successful investor you need professional advice. Experts who know what they're talking about and can help you achieve your financial goals in good markets...and especially in bad ones will help you improve your portfolio. That is why Zacks Investment Research Zacks Investment Research A firm that compiles earnings estimates and brokerage firm investment recommendations for thousands of publicly traded firms. has assembled the best investment experts in the business to offer their powerful advisory newsletters to you on all the major investment topics: Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Options, Futures etc. Recommendations from Featured Experts Highlighted in FREE Investment Newsletter The best way to tap into the powerful advice from these experts is through our free weekly e-mail newsletter, "Profit from the Pros". Each week we highlight several Featured Experts in this free e-mail newsletter. Get your free subscription to "Profit from the Pros" at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=86 About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 to compile, analyze, and distribute investment research to both institutional and individual investors. The guiding principle behind our work is the belief that investment experts, such as brokerage analysts and investment newsletter writers, have superior knowledge about how to invest successfully. Our goal is to unlock their profitable insights for our customers. And there is no better way to enjoy this investment success, than with a FREE subscription to "Profit from the Pros" weekly e-mail newsletter. For your free newsletter, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=87 Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. |
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